1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for playing games of chance, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for allowing a number of players to participate simultaneously in a tournament using a plurality of gaming terminals networked together and under control of a master terminal.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Slot tournaments are a popular slot merchandising practice in casinos. A slot tournament is a group function wherein a player pays a set amount of money to join the tournament, and his entry fee goes into a pot which is paid out to the tournament winner or winners, less the house percentage. The machines used for the tournament are specially configured machines that, upon the issuance of a xe2x80x9cstartxe2x80x9d command by a game controller, allow the players to play as fast as they can without requiring that coins be put into the machines. The wins, or xe2x80x9cpointsxe2x80x9d, are accumulated, held and displayed by each machine as points. At the end of a fixed period of time, a xe2x80x9cstopxe2x80x9d command is given, and all of the machines are disabled. The winner is the person having the highest accumulated score of win points obtained during the tournament period. In most tournaments the winner takes the entire pot.
Currently, tournaments must be run on specially set-up machines in a special area, and there must be at least one live host to run the game. Moreover, the games must be configured, tested and certified as being equal in every respect so that each player has an equal chance to win. Heretofore the machines used for such tournament were carefully selected, but ordinary casino-type slot machines which were enabled at a tournament xe2x80x9cstartxe2x80x9d time and disabled at a tournament xe2x80x9cendxe2x80x9d time. The accumulated score of each gaming unit had to be visually acquired and recorded by the tournament host, an accounting of all scores accumulated and processed, and a winner orally announced or otherwise posted. The circumstance and machine requirements practically dictated that all machines be located in a single vicinity or room, and that they be dedicated to tournament play. This, of course, limits the opportunity of the general public to have access to the tournament, and makes the tournament costly to conduct on the part of the gaming establishment because it must provide hosts or monitors, dedicate certain machines to tournament use, and provide a suitable facility for the conduct of the tournament.
There is thus a need for a new system and apparatus using state-of-the-art technology to improve all aspects of the conduct of tournament play, e.g., make tournament play more available to all who would enjoy the play, simplify the establishment""s monitoring requirements, and reduce overhead expense.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and system of the type described which makes it possible to conduct a slot tournament using any of a plurality of gaming terminals spread throughout a casino.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of networked gaming terminals all in communication with, and under control of, a host terminal.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method and system of the type described which allows a host or master terminal to automatically communicate with a plurality of gaming terminals and offer to the current player of each terminal the opportunity to play in a tournament without leaving his position on the casino floor.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a method and system of the type disclosed which has improved in terminal marketing capability.
Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the provision of a plurality of gaming terminals selectively interlinkable together with a host terminal so that current players of the terminals desiring to participate in group tournament play can be notified of the opportunity and provided with the choice to play or not. If a current player chooses to play, he so signifies, enters his entry fee into the terminal, and awaits start of the event. Upon start of the tournament by the host terminal, the player will play the tournament game over and over as fast as possible to accumulate as many points as possible during a particular pre-announced tournament period. The host terminal will continuously monitor the terminals of all play participants, dynamically record play status, and control termination of the game period. It will also conduct an accounting of the results, issue win results notification, and perhaps provide remote pay-out of game winnings.
An important advantage of the present invention is that it does not require dedicated terminals; i.e., any qualified terminal in the facility can be used and any current player of the gaming units can elect to play.
Another advantage of the present invention is that at most it requires a single terminal operator, and alternatively, the tournament could be run by a pre-programmed but unmanned host terminal.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that it enhances public access to tournament play.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that play is not limited to a single room, particular machines, or even the same casino facility or location.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art following a review of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which makes reference to the several figures of the drawing.